A cliffside conversation
by MzDany
Summary: Ninpu Sentai Hurricanger. A 'Valentine's' ficlet for a friend...SLASH


_A/N: I don't know if anyone has ever seen Hurricanger. It is the Japanese sentai version of Power Rangers Ninja Storm. There were so many slashy undertones between Crimson and Red (mainly on Red's part) that I simply couldn't resist…_

_Camille is the one who introduced me to this show, so consequently, this fic is for her._

_Happy Valentine's Day, Cmar. Sorry it's not the Trip/Lucas fic you wanted. Hope you're not too disappointed. _

**A cliff-side conversation  
****By Dany  
****Rated G**

Ninpu Sentai Hurricanger: Yousuke/Ikkou (Red/Crimson)  
Post-finale ficlet.

He saw him standing in the exact spot he had anticipated he'd be: At the very edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean, on the same outcropping of rock they had all stood a few days ago when they had watched in horror the churning vortex below, out of which "IT" had risen - the ultimate evil, intent on taking over the planet. Even from a few feet away, Yousuke could sense the tension in the Crimson Gouraijer; the tall boy stood rigidly, hands curled into fists at his sides, and Yousuke's determination wavered. _Maybe this is the wrong time, I should come back later or catch him some other day..._

Yet he kept moving, his feet drawing closer to the black and crimson clad figure ahead of him seemingly out of their own accord.

Ikkou clearly must have heard or sensed him coming, but he made no move to turn. Instead he waited, his gaze firmly set on to the horizon, until the younger teen stood right next to him.

Yousuke turned his head, taking in the Thunder Ranger's familiar profile. The chiseled features and beautiful, yet always stern eyes, his spiky black hair too short to be ruffled by the breeze - but also the ever-present scowl, now even more pronounced than usual. Yousuke took a breath, determined to ignore his wildly beating heart. _Maybe we can just make conversation instead... _

"Ikkou."

The Crimson Ranger's head turned a fraction. "Yousuke."

The Red Ranger's gaze traveled out onto the water. The slowly setting sun made the surface of the sea sparkle like diamond dust. "Such a peaceful sight now, isn't it?"

Ikkou just nodded.

"It's almost unbelievable that such evil could have emerged from it just a few days ago. But it's just water now."

That finally got Yousuke a gaze from his teammate. "Is it?"

"Is that what's got you worried?" Yousuke asked, now fully turning to him. "Don't be. Oboro-san said ever since she rebuilt her computer equipment she has been running continuous scans and she can no longer detect any traces of evil anywhere." He laid a hand on the arm of Ikkou's leather top. "Tau Zanto and his Seven Spears have been destroyed. For good."

Ikkou's direct gaze bore into him. Over the past few months, Yousuke had been on the receiving end of countless of the Crimson ninja's intense gazes, but they still somewhat unnerved him. He nevertheless returned the look with as much conviction as he could, and after a few moments, Ikkou's face seemed to soften. He blinked, then nodded. "If Oboro-san says so..." However, the bleak expression on the Thunder Ranger's face did not wholly diminish.

"So what else is bothering you?" Yousuke asked only to have Ikkou expel a heavy breath. A long silent minute passed before the tall, lanky ninja spoke. "I don't really know how to explain it," he said. "I guess I'm not really sure myself..."

Yousuke shrugged. "Just spit it out, then. Whichever way it comes to your mind. And don't worry about how strange it may sound." He grinned. "Works for Kouta every time."

Ikkou gave him a long, contemplative look, then simply said: "Now what?"

Yousuke blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

Ikkou's eyes drifted back over the water. The Crimson Ranger waved a hand vaguely. "I mean, now that _IT_ is gone...what's our purpose now?"

Yousuke thought for a moment, then raised his wrist and resolutely grabbed Ikkou's as well, holding their morphers together. "Ikkou, we're still Hurricanger and Gouraijer. You, me, the others - we _do_ still have a purpose, and that is to protect the planet. And in order to do that well, we have to look forward and be positive."

A small smile played around Ikkou's mouth. "Wise words from _you_?"

Yousuke just uttered a "_humph" _and the two young men looked out over the ocean once more. Yousuke noticed, however, that his teammate's fists had uncurled and his hands now hung loosely on his sides. Maybe he _had_ gotten through to him, after all.

Suddenly, Ikkou turned. "You know," he began. "Isshu wanted to see Nanami sing yesterday and he dragged me along. And backstage after the concert, he finally worked up the guts to ask her out." A small, crooked grin appeared on the Thunder ninja's face. "He even had a flower for her."

Yousuke's grin matched his. "At least it wasn't a cow this time." The two teens shared a brief chuckle, remembering the fiasco of the love spell and the Navy Ranger's very unfitting present to the Blue Ranger. "I take it she said yes?"

Ikkou nodded. "They are going out to eat tonight."

A sudden breeze pushed a few strands of hair into Yousuke's face. Absentmindedly, he brushed them away. _He had to say it now, before it drove him crazy. Or away, and the opportunity would be lost forever. _

"Ikkou, I..." Yousuke fidgeted with his morpher, eyes on the ground._ I am Hurricanger. I have fought the biggest evil this world has ever seen, surely I can work up the nerve to ask Ikkou for a date._ "There is this restaurant I heard of...they're supposed to have really awesome sushi...I was wondering..." He risked a brief look up to see Ikkou studying him intently.

And just like that, Yousuke's courage deserted him. The Red Ranger turned away, head hanging. "No, forget it. I shouldn't have brought it up, I..."

A gloved hand on his shoulder stopped him in mid-sentence. Ikkou had taken a step forward, his face unreadable.

"Are you asking me out?"

Yousuke could feel his cheeks burning. "I...ah..."

Ikkou surprised him by squeezing his shoulder, not smiling, but the expression in his eyes turning to something between amused and smug. "You know, you still _do_ owe me dinner anyways."

"Huh?" Yousuke cocked his head, genuinely puzzled now.

"Remember the hospital?"

Yousuke could only nod. How could he forget? The sight of Ikkou in that hospital bed, only moments away from dying of the poisoned scorpion the evil forces had implanted in his heart was forever burned into his memories. Yousuke had all but gone out of his mind with worry and fear. It was at Ikkou's bedside, when he cradled the seemingly lifeless body of the Thunder Ranger in his arms, that he finally admitted to himself the feelings he harbored for Ikkou, and that had led to the dangerous idea of provoking the evil forces of Tao Zanto to inject him with the same poison so that an antidote could be produced. Thankfully, the crazy plan had worked. They were both still alive and Ikkou's hitherto cold shoulder towards the three students of the Hayate School, and especially Yousuke, had warmed up considerably.

"Yeah, that was a bad time," the Red Ranger said grimly. "But we made it through okay."

"Thanks to you."

At a loss for a meaningful reply, Yousuke just moved his head and shoulders in an awkward shug-nod, but a moment later, he squinted up at the handsome Gourajier.

"But wait a minute. Just how does that work out anyways? I save your life and _I _end up owing _you_ dinner?"

"Guess you were too quick with your offer to buy that day," Ikkou deadpanned.

"Oh, so if I hadn't offered, you would have?" Yousuke couldn't quite contain the smirk that was forming around his mouth.

"Maybe." The Crimson Ranger folded his arms and looked out over the water in an apparent attempt to keep his own face straight.

"But we all_ did_ end up having dinner that night, remember?"

"At a noodle vendor's cart," Ikkou countered. "And you paid for everyone's meal, not just for mine, so in my eyes that doesn't count."

"No, guess not." Yousuke chuckled, then picked up a pebble and tossed it into the ocean. He gazed after it for an unnecessarily long time, but the Crimson Ranger wasn't so easily deterred.

"So you haven't answered my question," he pressed. "Is this just a friendly invitation or a date?"

Yousuke would have swallowed if his mouth hadn't been so dry. He settled for a deep breath instead. "The second."

Ikkou raised his chin. "Hm." But he said nothing more for a long moment, just looked at the Red Ranger silently with that intense gaze that never failed to make Yousuke's head spin and his heart pound.

This time, Yousuke couldn't hold the look. His eyes went to the ground, waiting under the Crimson Ranger's scrutinizing gaze, his dejection mounting with every passing second.

_Just shoot me down quickly so I can go home and hide in my room for the rest of the day._

Yousuke was so prepared for rejection that he barely heard Ikkou's response.

"So what time are we going there tonight, then?"

Yousuke's head shot up. "You...you wanna go?" he exclaimed. "Really?"

"Yeah, I do." Ikkou's gaze was as direct as always.

"Uhm..." Through his elation, Yousuke tried to keep his thoughts focused. "Eight? Seven? Now?" He was rewarded with one of Ikkou's rare smiles.

"Seven is fine. Just as long as it's not the same place Isshu and Nanami are going to."

"It won't be. I'll make sure of that." Yousuke's face split into what he knew must have been an extremely goofy grin, but he was too happy to care.

_'I wish I could hug him right now_,' the Red Ranger thought yearningly as he threw his date an inconspicuous side glance, but he knew that this would be a most unfitting thing to do, of course. Not to mention that, if he spontaneously wrapped his arms around Ikkou right now, the Crimson Ranger would probably act on instinct and throw him off the cliff. '_No, no hugs now, but maybe later, after dinner…'_

Next to him, Ikkou shifted his weight and made a small noise as if to clear his throat. "All right, so we go eat...and maybe play some Pachinko afterwards?" he suggested and Yousuke could have sworn that there was a hint of wariness in that small pause.

"You play Pachinko?" Yousuke exclaimed enthusiastically, intent on easing Ikkou's mind.

"Yeah. Don't you?"

"Are you kidding?" Yousuke squared his shoulders and made a show of puffing out his chest. "Everybody at the Pachinko parlor on Giza Street trembles when I walk through the door. I'm that good."

Ikkou folded his arms across his chest, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Oh really? Well, you've just earned yourself a challenge, then."

"Anytime. Bring it on."

"Oh, I will."

The two Rangers grinned at each other for a moment until Yousuke suddenly slapped his forehead. "Ah, I almost forgot why I came up here in the first place."

Ikkou raised an eyebrow. "Other than to ask me out?" he asked innocently and despite his best efforts, Yousuke could feel the blush creeping back into his face. He did his best to stoically ignore it. "The Director wants us to assemble at the Hayate School for training," he said. "The others are already there."

"Training?" Ikkou echoed with a scowl. "But we've graduated; we're full-fledged ninjas now. Why does he still want us to train like students?"

In response, Yousuke simply held up his morpher wrist again with a wry grin.

Ikkou smirked. "Ah, always be prepared, huh?"

"That's his motto; we have to stay sharp, just in case."

Ikkou let his gaze wander over the water one last time. "Well, better get going, then."

They turned their backs to the ocean and the horizon, where the first faint colors of sunset were just starting to dull the sun's incandescent glow. Side by side, and close enough to _almost_ be touching, they walked away from the cliff and the past it represented.

But training was definitely _not_ on the forefront of their minds.

**THE END**

_A/N: Pachinko is the Japanese version of Pinball._

_If the dialogue sounds strange at times, that's because I've tried to stick close to the way the original sentai characters are speaking. And since it's a Japanese show, they just sometimes sound...different._


End file.
